Object description

Dalma is the name given to the ancient culture whose widespread ceramic remains were excavated in central and northern valleys of the Zagros mountain in north-western Iran. Dalma assemblages were initially discovered by the excavations carried out at Dalma Tepe and Hasanlu Tepe in south-western parts of Lake Urmia, in the valley of Solduz. Further excavations in Dalma Tepe as part of the Hasanlu Project of the University of Pennsylvania in 1961 uncovered more Dalma assemblages. The excavated materials included architectural, burial, and ceramic remains, clay, bones, artifacts, ground stones, and chipped stones. They indicated that Dalma culture dated back to the fifth millennium B.C. As stated by Akbar Abedi, the Iranian archaeologist, Dalma is one of the famous type sites located in north-western Iran.